In the field of food packaging, bottles made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) are enjoying increasing favor. During their manufacture, these containers are manufactured from preforms. During the manufacturing process, the preforms move through different processing machines, each carrying out different processes on the preforms. To optimize the handling, they present a support ring, on whose top or bottom side they are held while they move through different processing machines. During the transport between the processing machines, the preforms are also held and transferred above or below the support ring. Thus, the transport of the preforms is often substantially without bottom support through the processing machines and the intercalated transport and transfer devices. If containers are transferred, then each one can only be gripped alternately above and below on the support ring.
The Patent DE 37 13 016 A1 describes such an alternate gripping of plastic bottles above or below the support ring. During the entire transport through different machines, rotating stations and transfer areas, the bottles are supported or guided by the neck collar, practically without bottom support.
In such transfer methods, and in such devices, one problem that arises is that between two processing machines, both of which contact below or above the support ring, transfer devices, such as, for example, transfer stars, have to be used, because it is not possible to repeatedly grip the container at the same place, either above or below the support ring.